


Painful Truth

by MedievalEnchanted



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: Angry Lesbians, Emotinal Abuse, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Hurt, Other, Physical Abuse, Pregnancy, Valucille, angry, dead beat dad, maternal, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:54:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27568588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MedievalEnchanted/pseuds/MedievalEnchanted
Summary: TRIGGER WARNING! Both physical and emotional abuse.Valerie see's a new patient, who is under the control of her emotionally abusive father and on the sane day Valerie's own abusive father Viktor, whom she hasn't seen in almost ten years shows up!
Relationships: Bernadette | Shelagh Turner/Patrick Turner, Delia Busby/Patsy Mount, Lucille Anderson/Valerie Dyer
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Painful Truth

**Author's Note:**

> My own Dad is emotionally abusive and I began writing this when he'd been particularly bad and I needed to get my own emotions out and found this has been the best way, writing it down... I had written a version of this before, but I deleted it as I edited and wrote more to go with it!
> 
> So I am sorry for the emotional rollercoaster.
> 
> Don't forget to leave kudos and a kind comment! Thankk you! <3

Valerie had now been working at Nonnatus House for over a year and she was still loving every single minute, it’s not to say she has had some difficult days but all in all but being a Nurse and Midwife and working at Nonnatus was the best job that she could have ever asked for. As usual she was having a good week, however the rest of her week would turn out to be rather difficult not only for her in her work life but in her personal life also.

**Monday 12th July 1963**

Valerie came down the stairs as usual for the start of her work day, sitting down at the table in the main room to eat her breakfast with the Nuns and other Midwives before they set to. All of them walked into the clinical room to be given their tasks for the day ahead, by Sister Julienne as Nurse Crane was in hospital with severe sciatica.

“Nurse Franklin…” Sister Julienne began “You need to add Mrs. Jennings to your list of house calls today, she’s still in a lot of pain and after the fall she had we need to keep an extra close eye, especially now that we know she is expecting and wants to deliver at home.” 

“Yes Sister.” Beatrix Franklin replied, taking a pencil and noting down the lady on her list of house calls that Sister Julienne had just passed over to her.

“Nurse Mount, you will come with me to the clinic” 

“Of course Sister.” Patsy Mount nodded, packing up her clinical bag.

“Sister Francis, you will stay here and man the phones.”

“Of course, Sister, working like a well oiled machine now.” Sister Francis smiled, packing up her bag, to be prepared in case she was needed to go out on call at any point.

Shelagh Turner walked in after having just put the phone down. “Sorry Sister, Mrs. Levett is in labour and as it’s her fifth baby, things will probably happen quickly.”

“Of course Nurse Turner, of you go.”

“Lucille, Clinic for you as well today.”

“Yes, Sister Julienne.” Lucille smiled, packing her clinic bag up.

“Everyone you can go now and Nurse Dyer, I just need to talk to you about who you’ll be seeing before I send you on your way.”

“Alright Sister.”

Once everyone had left for their days ahead, and out of ear shot, Valerie Valerie looked up at sister Julienne, a frown covering her face “Sister?” Valerie asked quietly.

“Right...the young lady you will be seeing, her name is Miss. Dunn however lives with her Father and her little sister. Her father is emotionally abusive, but I don’t know how bad it is exactly.”

Valerie took a breath, nodding as she packed up her bag, stopping still with her hand hovering over the clasp of her blue nursing bag.

“Valerie... are you sure you're up to this? I mean - I am more than happy to - I can swap you with one one of the other ladies if you wish for me to do so?”

“No, no, no.” Valerie began, breathing out the breath she had just been holding in, looking up at Sister Julienne with a soft smile “Honestly Sister, she needs someone like me, someone who can relate to her and not just attempting to understand but someone who  _ can actually _ understand what she is going through, it’s hard but if she thinks someone is pretending to relate to her or understand she won’t say anything, she will want to feel like she isn’t on her own and she has someone who she can talk to without feeling judged or unrelatable..”

“I see… Of course.” Sister Julienne smiled, nodding as Valerie left, watching her leave Nonnarus before she herself made her way over to the community centre for the clinic day.

Valerie arrived at number 16 Hawthorne Road, it was a big brown door, with bits of wood missing and it looked like shapes in the door from where someone would have made a fist and landed their fist on the door. A punch. This wasn’t a good sign and Valerie hadn’t even stepped inside the house yet. Just as she was about to knock on the wooden door, she heard loud shouting and screaming and raised voices from inside the house.

“Like that day an’ night love.” A neighbour said as she walked past with her own baby in a pram.

Valerie frowned at the woma, before looking back to the door and she knocked loud, so the people shouting on the other side would be able to hear her above their own voices. “Midwife calling for Grace Dunn.” Valerie waited, holding her breath for just a moment “Miss. Dunn, I’m afraid if no one answers, someone more senior than myself will have to call round tomorrow.”

The door suddenly swung open “Hello Nurse.” A man answered, opening the door fully to let Nurse Dyer in “I’s Grace’s Father Ma’am.” The man was heavily built, with a small bear belly, wearing a dark suit, black tie and joined with a dark purple flat cap on his head, covering what little hair he had left.

“Father you say? So you’re Mr. Dunn then?” Valerie's face wrinkled up, as she walked past the man.

“Well not exactly I am her father but I am Mr. King”

“Mr. King?”

“That’s right.” The man replied smuggly.

“Dad would you just go already! I’ve already asked you to leave.” A pregnant woman spoke from across the room, clutching her rounded tummy, clearly trembling and scared. She was also quite young, her hair was dark brown, not quite black, and her hair was pinned up in a ‘40’s updo’ and her eyes were dark unlike her father’s who had green eyes. She wore a 1940’s style red dress with white spots all over. She looked beautifully exquisite.

“Whatever the lady wants.” Mr. King acknowledged, turning back to his daughter with a smirk as he grabbed his hat and coat.

“Not what you said the last bloody three times I asked. I-”

Mr. King didn’t wait for his daughter to finish, he just left slamming the door behind him and storming down the street.

Grace was shaking and she burst into tears as soon as he was gone, her hands covering her face. “I’m sorry Nurse, bet you think he seems like a great Father, just like everyone else ‘round ‘ere.”

“Miss. Dunn -”

“Oh no, please call me Grace Nurse.” Grace insisted, as she went and sat down on the sofa. In which Valerie joined, sitting right beside her, placing her bag at her feet.

Valerie nodded, holding Grace’s hands gently “Okay Grace, chick believe it or not, I don’t think anything of the sort, why don’t we get the kettle on and you can talk to me about everything that’s been going on hmm?” Valerie smiled as she gave Grace a tissue.

Grace nodded, as she took the tissue whilst Valerie popped into the kitchen and put the kettle on making them both a nice sweet cup of tea. She bought the tea back through and placed it on the table in front of her and sat back next to the young girl.

“Have some tea and then you can tell me what’s been happening?” Valerie smiled “And while you have your tea I will do some checks okay?”

Grace nodded, still sniffing as she sipped slowly at her tea and Valerie carried out all the checks she needed and jotted everything down “Okay, you blood pressure is on the high side and I really think we should book you into the maternity home-”

“No, Nurse I can’t, he won’t let that happen…” Grace trembled as she put her cup back on the tray.

“Okay… it’s okay… who won’t your father?”

“He’s no father of mine, he’s just -”

“I know.” Valerie sighed, placing everything back in her bag “Now why don’t you tell me everything.”

“Do you have time? I don’t want to hold you up, nurse.”

“I have plenty of time.” Valerie smiled, sitting back taking her own cup of tea into her hands sipping gently as she listened to miss. Dunn speak.

Grace told Valerie about the emotional abuse about how he has intimidated her and threatens her, he shouts and is aggressive towards not just her but her 14 year old sister. How he criticizes both of his daughters by name calling and nasty sarcastic comments which he laughs at after he’s said them, he also undermines them by dismissing their opinions, and Grace went on to explain how when he does this over time it has made her question her own thoughts and feelings and she feels like she’s going crazy, and the fact that after he has been incredibly nasty all of a sudden it’s like the situation never arose because he’s nice as pie.

Grace continued to speak about her father explaining that he is always making her feel guilty on a daily basis, sometimes he has threatened to kill himself in front of them and other time’s completely blanks her, although he has never given the silent treatment to her sister, which Grace seemed happy about, but Valerie knew the reasoning behind this, she was protecting her sister and would do so at all costs.

“And what about your finances?” Valerie asked.

“What about them?” Grace mumbled.

“Well I presume you were working before you fell pregnant, does your - does Mr. King, do you have any say in your finances?”

“Any say? Nurse I am 26 years old and haven’t been able to escape his hold over me, so to your question? Yes he withholds all my earnings and savings, doesn’t even let me see what I have earned, I was trying to save up before - this happened.” Grace pointed at her rounded stomach “I was trying to save, for me and Eva to escape.”

“Eva’s your sister?”

“Yes. She’s everything to me, Nurse. He found the stash… and that was the first time he hit me.”

Valerie paused “When was this?” Valerie asked as calmly as she could.

“About seven months ago, maybe a bit more. He also tells me what I can and can’t do, and not just if I can or can’t go out, but little things like making the tea or cooking or reading. Nurse?” grace frowned.

“Yes?” Valerie smiled with her empathetic eyes.

“I’m really scared… he won’t hit mei in my condition, but he’s come close...I -”

“You stepped in front of your sister?” 

Grace nodded, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

Valerie stayed for another thirty minutes before leaving, she knew she had to get Grace out of that house, but how she would do that is another matter entirely.

When Valerie arrived back at Nonnatus House, she was feeling a little numb? Emotional? Exhausted… yes exhausted and a bit out of it, which was obvious when Sister Julienne saw Valerie walk through the doors and called over to her. “Valerie! How did it go?”

Valerie didn’t answer.

“Valerie?”

And again Valerie didn’t say a single word.

“Nurse dyer?!”

Suddenly Valerie was lifted out of the world, she had let her mind fall into “Oh, sorry, Sister.” Valerie looked up at the Nun standing next to her, both of them were now standing in the clinic room as Valerie unpacked her bag.

“How was Miss. Dunn?” Sister Julienne asked.

Valerie let out a ginormous and lengthy sigh “Well, Ms. Dunn - Grace is struggling. Her blood pressure is slightly elevated, so I need to keep an eye on that. I think we should book her into the maternity home however that won’t be easy, her Father won’t allow it, he is very emotionally abusive towards her, he’s controlling and has begun physically abusing both his girls, that much is clear. Grace wants to move out but her father, Mr. King won’t allow her access to any of her money, is there anything we can do Sister?” Valerie pleaded.

“Let me look into it, I’m sure we can do something, I will see what we can do to help her and her sister. How old is she?”

“She’s 26 and her sister is only 14.” Valerie replied, setting her bag down. “We have to help her. She’s nearly to term. Her Father thought that by being all smiley to me and putting up a pretence, I wouldn’t see right through him.”

“Indeed.” Sister Julienne replied “Oh, by the way your Mother called whilst you were out, she asked for you to go round and see her and your Gran will be there too apparently, would you like me to come with you?”

“Right, and no thank you Sister, if there’s any issues I will telephone you.” Valerie smiled as she quickly put her bag away, and went upstairs to quickly get changed into some plain dark blue slacks, and a mustard yellow wooly jumper, with flat shoes on her feet and soon enough she had left Nonnatus and was walking over to her mother’s house. 

Valerie Stopped abruptly, as she arrived at the yellow wooden door, a frown mounting her face, she crooked her head to the side a little seeing that door was ever so slightly ajar. Valerie then knocked three times and pushed the door open walking into her mothers home “Mum? Gran?”

Valerie walked through into the entrance way and smiled seeing her Gran.

“Love.” Elsie Dyer greeted her granddaughter, with a nervous tone lacing her voice. 

“Gran? What’s going on?”

“Well, lets see...someone turned up out of the blue, someone you haven't seen in a long time and your Mum’s in a state and he won’t leave until he’s seen you, but we ain’t leavin’ you alone wiv’ him.”

“Who is it?” Valerie frowned, as she walked into the living room seeing her Mum in tears on the sofa and a man standing in the corner.

“What the hell are you doing here?!”

“Is that anyone to speak to your father?” The man smirked.

“Father? That’s funny, considering my Father wouldn’t dare show his face around here. What exactly have you said to my Mum?” Valerie was so angry, she was seething, why did he think this was okay? Showing up, un announced? Valerie hated him, and she doesn’t hate many people, she didn’t want to ever see him  _ ever _ again, there’s a reason she cut him out of her life for good.

Although this man had only twice laid a hand on Valerie, he had however, never laid a hand on her Sisters or her Mother, but that didn’t mean the abuse wasn’t still there, because it was. The way he would demean them, or the way he would talk to them, make them feel like everything was their fault and yet he would never take blame for anything. He would always make the biggest scene over the smallest thing, or would say they were making up everything that they knew for a fact had happened, and accused them of lying, making them seem like they were crazy, pretty much everything that Grace Dunn was going through.... Valerie had gone through with her own flesh and blood.

He made his family feel crazy, because of the way he made them feel, Valerie at just 15 years old stood up to him and this was one of the times he hit her and then Val’s mother stepped in front and told him to leave… and he...well he did and he never came back.

Valerie only had one more interaction with him after this, when she was 19, she met him in a cafe and told him to “Get stuffed” she didn’t ever want to see him again, and he managed to keep to his word, that was until now.

Valerie was looking at him, trying not to show how scared she was, her hands behind her back trembling, as she looked at this man who towered over the rest of them. 

“Nothing, I have never done a thing to your Mother!” The man snapped.

“Yeah. O’course you ain’t.” 

Valerie quickly kneeled next to her Mum “Mum? Mum? Look at me, what did he do?” Valerie placed a hand gently on the side of her mothers face. “Mum?” 

“It’s nothin’, I shouldn’t let it get to me-”

“She’s pathetic.”

“No you’re pathetic! You always made us out to be the crazy ones! Like everything was our fault, but it wasn’t, it was you it was  _ always _ you, you dick head. You are abusive-”

“I never laid a finger on any of you!”

“No, not on them you didn’t.” Valerie had told her Gran every detail about the physical and emotional abuse she had endured from him, she didn’t know who else she could tell that she could trust enough.

Elsie Dyer cut in at this point “Yeah, you were always good at that Viktor. Never leaving marks or bruises, never physically hurting them. Except when you hurt my Val, you made sure it was in a place no one else could see, didn’t ya?!”

“What do you know about any of it?”

“Family. We talk to each other, I know everything you did and said. Now I think you should go.”

“I don’t think so-” Vicktor smirked.

“Viktor. Go. I don’t want you here, I never want to see you again. You are no Father of mine now get out!” Valerie shouted.

“You ungrateful little bitch! Whether you like it or not, I am your Father, ain’t nothing you can do about it.” Vicktor replied.

“Did you not hear me? Get out! Leave us all alone!”

“You should thank yourself lucky that you have a Father like me. It’s always been poor little Valerie aint it? You can never stop to look at yourself and think maybe you caused all this damage? I am ashamed of you. You’re a disappointment, stop blaming me and maybe look at yourself for once. You have made a decision of not wanting me in your life? Then fine. Your choice.”

“Vicktor. You gave her no other choice but to make that choice! NOW GET OUT BEFORE I THROW YOU OUT!!” Elsie shouted.

Viktor wasn’t having any of it, he grabbed one of Valerie’s arms twisting it behind her back, and with his other hand grabbed the top of her head pulling it back “You’re gonna wish you ain’t never been born.”

Valerie just screamed out in pain, and he pushed her her, throwing he body against the wall, still holding tight to her arm, and Elsie practically pounced on him, pushing him out the living room door and out the front door “If you come near or touch my Val again, I will call the police.” Elsie shouted as she shut and locked the front door.

Elsie rushed back in to find June holding Valerie in her arms “Valerie! Come on…be okay please be okay.” June sobbed and Elsie kneeled next to her, holding her granddaughter's hand, within her own.

She soon came back round, opening her eyes slowly and looking up at her mother “I’m okay Mum. I am.” Val smiled, before looking slowly over at Gran “I - Gran - it’s my fault -”

Elsie sat beside Valerie pulling her Granddaughter in a tight hug, and Valerie was now kneeling with her arms draped over Elsie shoulders, and her hands clenched together. 

“No. Valerie sweeth’art, it’s not your fault, don’t you dare blame yourself, not even for a second! Do you understand me? He is a monster.”

“But if I hadn’t of...pushed him...snapped at him or made him -”

“Valerie you didn’t make him do anything, do you hear me?” Elsie demanded, as Valerie pulled away. Valerie nodded her head and then the sudden realisation that she was actually in a lot of pain, hit her like a tonne of bricks.

Valerie screamed “Gran...my arm.I think he’s broken my arm...” Valerie squeezed Grans hand with her spare hand, as she broke down in tears, sobbing into her Grandmother's neck, crying out from the pain.

“Come on...I’m taking you back to Nonnatus...June will you be okay, or are you coming with us?” Elsie asked her daughter. (both of Junes parents had the same surname)

June stood up, holding her daughter around the waist with one arm, and holding her possibly broken wrist gently in the palm of her other hand, as Elsie linked arms with her granddaughter's good arm.

“I’m coming with you.” June stated, with fear lacing her voice.

June and Elsie walked Valerie back over to Nonnatus house and hammered on the door (although Valerie had told them both, twice on the way over to just open the door, but no they didn’t do that.)

“Oh god! SISTER!” Trixie bellowed as she opened the door to the three women and Sister Julienne came running to the door.

“Oh my! What’s happened?” Sister Julienne asked as she stood aside for them all to come in, and sat them all down in the clinic room, as Trixie closed the door and went and retrieved a bowl and a cloth and filled it up with warm water, coming back and sitting beside her friend, cleaning up her face.

Not only was Valerie’s arm possibly broken, but she had cut down one side of her face and bruises beginning to appear ever so slightly at the top of her head.

“Valerie what happened?” Sister Julienne asked.

“My - Sister please don’t let anyone else know about this.”

“Of course not.” Sister Julienne nodded.

Valerie gulped “My Father...if you can call him that, made an appearance and when I stood up to him he twisted my arm behind my back and…” Valerie continued telling Sister Julienne and Trixie the story of what had happened, just as Grace Dunn had been telling her the story of what Mr. King had been doing to her, earlier that same day.

Valerie still couldn’t wrap her head around it. The day she gets a new patient, and one she can really relate to, is the day her father after 10 years suddenly turns up. She knew it was just a coincidence but what a hell of a coincidence it was.

“Ow.” Valerie was suddenly pulled back, with Trixie looking at her arm, working out if it was broken or not.

“Sorry Val...the wrist is broken, I think you might have some ligament damage of the ulnar collateral in the elbow.”

“Mum? Mum are you okay?” Val looked to her right and her Mum was looking faint, and within seconds she was falling back if the stall, and Trixie had jumped round catching her as she fell, and just lay her on the floor, checking her over.

“Nothing to worry about, it’s possibly just the shock of everything that’s happened, but I am going to call for an ambulance and have you both seen at hospital, they can run some scans on both of you.” Trixie smiled gently, before walking off to the telephone.

“How are you feeling Elsie?” Sister Julienne asked.

“Me? I’m fine, just a bit… what’s the word… not myself… he just...that man, he riles me up something good he does. I mean first he comes knocking on my daughters door and scares how so much she can’t move, then he hurts my Val? He is meant to be her father? What kind of man does that to his child?”

“He doesn’t believe any of them are his…” June croaked as she came back round.

“What?” Valerie and Elsie said at the same time.

“I - he thinks because of how all of them stand up for themselves, more specifically to him, that none of you can possibly be his -”

“Is there any truth to it?” Valerie asked, even if her Mum had had an affair, she wouldn’t think any less of her, because if she had she was probably doing it to try and escape from Viktor.”

June was now standing, and she hung her head, crossing her arms “There could be some truth to it…”

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to leave kudos and a kind comment! Thankk you! <3


End file.
